Album of the Week

The Traditional – How To Live Without Blood

January 12, 2015

“So I’ll sort through the shorts of this ashtray of my past and smoke one for every time I was happy… I’ll smoke one if I’m lucky.” Harsh, maybe… But it’s just one of many curses that fill How To Live Without Blood, the latest release from Buffalo’s own The Traditional. Singer/bassist Anthony Musior is no doubt this band’s songwriter, filling these songs with powerful personal references and thinly veiled attacks about the heaviest of subject matters. Musior, or “Mewsh” as most of the world lovingly knows him, has been working towards this moment for a long time. That’s not to take any of the onus off of guitarists Ryan Bennett and Mike Bienias, or the pristine backup vocals of drummer Jon Coric… Collectively, The Traditional is one of the hardest working bands in Buffalo. But with only an EP and a split to their name, How To Live Without Blood feels[...]

Teenage Satan – Teenage Satan II

January 5, 2015

After a brief holiday hiatus, buffaBLOG’s Album of the Week feature is back in business. For the first time since the distant days of 2014, we have selected a local (or quasi-local) album, EP, or collection of songs that we find to be worthy of merit, and posted it up here for your listening pleasure. This week, for the first week of the new year, our collective ears were caught by the lo-fi bedroom folk songs on Teenage Satan’s second self-titled EP. Teenage Satan (aka Dan Bauer) doesn’t fully abandon the electronic nature of his first effort earlier last year, but he does take a bit of a departure on Teenage Satan II in the sense that he unplugs and picks up an acoustic guitar. The result is a little experimental, a little electronic, but decidedly folk-tinged this time around. Favoring humble organ tones over unearthly synths, Teenage Satan II[...]

Wooden Waves – Wilder Dreams

December 8, 2014

It’s a cliché to say that a band’s latest release shows “signs of maturation.” On one hand, it usually doesn’t mean anything: you’re just saying they’re older than they were yesterday. On the other hand, it makes an incorrect assumption about progress. It implies that the band was one thing yesterday, is something else today and is working towards becoming some perfected version of itself in the future. This kind of assumption might give us a framework for making sense of things, but it’s not actually how reality works. Seeds grow, fruit ripens, but bands? People? They change, but there’s no perfect end point to work towards that is more valuable than the present. Accepting that realization is closer to maturation than the acquisition of any object or the accomplishment of any goal, and the struggle for that acceptance is at the heart of Wooden Waves’ Wilder Dreams (One Percent Press).[...]

Mountains and Valleys – Mountains and Valleys

November 17, 2014

This week’s AOTW feature comes at us all the way from Syracuse. We here at buffaBLOG are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore such compelling music from artists in WNY’s surrounding areas, and thusly, are expanding our reach. This week, neo-folk troubadour Merritt Harris and his collaborative project, Mountains and Valleys, has caught our ear, and for good reason. The indie-folk collective has just pulled the sheet off of their self-titled debut—a beautiful and cohesive collection of songs unmistakably suitable for those with curious, introspective souls. Also notable is the fact that the record is a full twelve tracks in length and each track holds up strong. In today’s digital age of online-only 3 – 6 track EPs, splits, and singles, it’s refreshing to see a full twelver every now and again, and the amount of work that went into this one is palpable—to say the least. Mountains and Valleys’ sound[...]

Bryan Johnson and Family – Cool Your Jets

November 10, 2014

Local cult leader, Bryan Johnson (that is why he calls his band ‘Family,’ right?) is one of the hardest working musicians in the city. His band has been a mainstay at local shows for years and with good reason, they are jittery, poppy crowd pleasers. And with the weather quickly cooling, the band has released a last burst of sunshine with its latest EP, Cool Your Jets. Joyful might be the quickest way to describe the bulk of Johnson’s music. Most of the songs on Cool Your Jets move quickly, featuring a bouncy beat and jangling guitars. That beat becomes the driving force behind the EP and really is one of the key features of the band’s unique sound. Impressively, Bryan Johnson and David Hamilton’s guitar playing is equally percussive, driving that bounce forward, and complimenting it well. In step with this is Johnson’s own good natured vocals. The EP evokes scenes of late[...]

101010 – We Are The Movie

November 3, 2014

Another month, another farewell album. Listening to an album known to be a band’s last is always a bittersweet experience, and 101010’s We Are The Movie was no different for me. The Buffalo band, having formed in 2012 from the ashes of Americana act Vox Humana, are no longer playing together, but, as a final gesture of good faith, decided to digitally release their swan song album for the fans of their decidedly post-rock loudness. Each of the respective members will be focusing on different projects beyond 101010’s dissolution; keep your ears to the ground. Though the curtain has called for 101010, We Are The Movie satisfies, and should not go unrecognized. Enter our Album of the Week. We Are The Movie explores the various intricacies of post-rock and shoegaze, landing somewhere between the cosmic thickness of 90’s band Hum and the hard-hitting fervor of Chevelle. But the album doesn’t[...]

Handsome Jack – Do What Comes Naturally

October 27, 2014

There is always a lot of talk about the hardcore and punk scene in Buffalo, but what about the blues? Bands like Johnny Nobody, Mr. Boneless, and in particular, Handsome Jack? As for the latter, the Lockport four-some hasn’t released a proper full length since 2011’s Super Moon, but in Do What Come Naturally, which Handsome Jack celebrated the release of this past Friday at Mohawk Place, the wait was certainly worth it. Once again, my brothers from another mother  prove that Buffalo’s got soul. Do What Comes Naturally is a red-eye flight and a universe away from Super Moon. I guess you could say the boys did some growing up. Where as Super Moon sounded like an overly extended ballad, Do What Comes Naturally is rough and hard around the edges. The band, now cocksure and headstrong, lays it all out on the table, letting the listener know exactly what they are working with.” From the[...]

Zak Ward – That’s What You Get

October 20, 2014

Like a lot of people, I’ve always had a tendency to associate the music I listen to with a certain season. Sometimes there are objective reasons for this, certain sounds do traditionally pair well with particular times of the year, and sometimes it can be entirely subjective, such as when you only relate an album to a certain month because it just happens to be the first time you listened to it. Zak Ward’s new EP, That’s What You Get, released just this past weekend, would seem to qualify on both fronts as it’s an album that easily evokes the feeling of an early fall and happens to have arrived just as we’ve probably finished seeing 60 degrees in Western New York until 2015.  (The cover of the album might also help to inspire this autumnal connotative value with what looks to be a canvas brushed with a palette of[...]

Europa & The Great Red Spot – Inside Voices

October 13, 2014

This week brings us yet another Rochester Album of the Week nod. Europa & The Great Red Spot‘s Inside Voices is a wonderfully understated LP full of fuzzy lo-fi gems. Riding mysteriously on a heavy space theme, it might as well be the sound of Europa itself spinning around Jupiter. Album opener “Din” is an immediate highlight. Falling somewhere on the spectrum between TV on the Radio and Local Natives, “Din” is a simmering slow-burner, with beautiful lyrics that touch on love, space, tattoos, and conflicting weather patterns. It’s a fitting introduction for an album full of hazy, lo-fi beauty. Another great dowsing rod for this band is the title track, “Inside Voices” – a six-minute, almost-instrumental epic worth getting lost inside. E&TGRS specialize in songs like these – swirly synths, shy guitars, and a pleasant, washy mix. On the other hand, “Redshift” walks the line of psychedelic – think the[...]

A Hotel Nourishing – Empty Gesture EP

October 6, 2014

For those of you who still cannot comprehend how A Hotel Nourishing is just two people—guitarist Sonny Baker and drummer Cameron Rogers—you’re not alone. I, too, have struggled with this concept since the band’s conception over seven years ago. Anyone who has seen the duo play a live show knows what I am talking about; it sounds like there are four or five of them onstage. Yet with a single guitar, a pedal or two, and a drum kit, the pair pulls off a sound so rich and intricately arranged that your double take will do a double take. That roughly equates to a quadruple take, mathematically speaking. This past Friday saw the release of A Hotel Nourishing’s long-awaited Empty Gesture EP, a six-song scorcher that, like their 2007 debut Deux Ex Machina, features that familiar original blend of “almost” math rock and post-punk artistry that made them so buzzworthy[...]

Machine Gun English – I’m Too Tall For My Time Machine These Days

September 29, 2014

“They” say that rock n’ roll is dead; I think the Stainds and Creeds and Puddle of Mudds of the world are just getting smarter. Rock music is now led by bands like Black Keys and Cage the Elephant – its less about machismo and brain dead guitar distortion and more about bluesy goodness. Machine Gun English is kind of like a mix between the Arctic Monkeys and Wild Beasts. The Rochester three-piece is all about rock n’ roll and good times, and it shows through their music. “Body Shots” is an accurate representation of the band and a great way to open the EP. A chorus chant of “Are you ready to go?” coupled with a classic rock guitar riff is plenty to power through the four-minute banger. The band hits their stride hardest on “Thanks, But No Thanks,” the Wild Beast-iest of their tracks. I am reminded of[...]

Hannah Weidner – Comfortable Existence

September 22, 2014

Rochester is having a good September as far as buffaBLOG is concerned. Earlier this month we saw the release of Cottage Jefferson’s fantastic new album B-Side, which deservingly snagged the blog’s first Album of the Week spot of September. This week we have another Rochester artist grabbing the spot—meet singer/songwriter Hannah Weidner. The DIY songbird’s debut album, Comfortable Existence, is a harmony-rich acoustic beaut, drawing comparisons to earlier tracks of sister-songwriter duo First Aid Kit. Now, as aforementioned, Comfortable Existence is an acoustic album at its core, consisting primarily of folksy acoustic tracks with beautifully-crafted vocal harmonies. (Take the ‘love-is-in-the-air’ album-opener “Your Essence” for example.)  A more focused listen reveals a certain intricacy to the songs that adds serious depth to the album, making Hannah Weidner and her songcraft stand out among other folk contemporaries. The subtle inclusion of horns and air organ in a few of the songs adds[...]

Joseph Michael Wesolowski – The Spine and Telephone Wire

September 15, 2014

Diving into Joseph Michael Wesolowski’s The Spine and Telephone Wire was a curious affair for me. Running just under 16 minutes, the 4 track EP should seem short, but after one listen-through, the melancholic folk songs provoke an aching familiarity that makes it feel like I’ve been listening for years. Spine is more than just a 4 track display of musical competence—it’s a beautiful moodscape that is as inviting as it is dismal. “’Cause I lie inside a chalkboard, teacher scratching nails on my walls / and I’m staring at the floorboards, running bravely through these halls” starts Wesolowski on EP opener “Grange.” His lyrics are clever and contemplative throughout the record and are often times given the spotlight, as most of the instrumentation throughout Spine (usually an acoustic guitar coupled with waves of ambient noise in the background) sits slightly behind his soft howl in the mix. His singing[...]

Alpha Hopper – Let Heaven and Nature Sing

September 8, 2014

The title of Alpha Hopper’s Let Heaven and Nature Sing hints at harmony and order, and despite the fuzz and the dissonance, the album churns like a fantastic machine, pistons and gears lifting and pulling in sync. The two main drivers: the jagged, restless guitar work of John Toohill and Ryan McMullen and the stressed-out, frustrated vocals of Irene Rekhviashvili. Drummer Doug Schneider is no slouch either, holding things together behind the noise. But it’s the interplay between Rekhviashvili’s strung-out shouts and the guitars’ driving crunches that gives Let Heaven and Nature Sing much of its character. Take opener “Western Walk.” It starts off with an uneven stomp of a guitar riff which mimics the heavy steps of a drunk on a mission. Before your ear can adjust to the rhythm, Rekhviashvili comes in with her own off-kilter croon, filling spaces you didn’t even realize were there, drawing out and[...]

Cottage Jefferson – B-Side

September 1, 2014

So, all good things must come to an end. Damn you, Chaucer—right again. Cottage Jefferson, Rochester’s favorite fuzz band, played what they announced to have been their final show back in May. Thankfully, that hasn’t stopped the quartet from tying up loose ends and putting out one last hurrah of an album. Titled B-Side, the exceptionally nostalgic 10-track album is a warm embrace, a phantom limb, a fist in the air. The songs have a good range of feeling and style without sounding scattered, sitting contentedly between the twinkly mood-jams of Built to Spill and the lethargic thickness of Dinosaur Jr. The record opens with “One Verse, No Chorus,” a gleeful three-chord jam with noodle guitar breakdowns, crunchy chords, and (despite what the title describes) what I consider to be a very catchy chorus. The song has a very casual feel to it and no shortage of hooks. For most,[...]